Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The naming of teas is a difficult matter, It isn't just one of your everyday games- Some might think you as mad as a hatter Should you tell them each goes by several names. For starters each tea in this world must belong To the families Black or Green or Oolong; Then look more closely at these family trees- Some include Indians along with Chinese.

T.S. Eliot ~The Naming of Cats~

Last weekend we celebrated two birthdays with one family dinner. Since both hubby and my daughter-in-law’s birthday are within one week of each other, this worked out great.

Ever since my son was just a little boy (he’s 23 now) he’s been asking for dirt pie instead of a birthday cake. Now my daughter-in-law has the same request. Aren’t family traditions fun? And also on the plus side – it’s easier to bake pies.

For anyone who doesn’t care for chocolate (gasp!), I also baked some mini cheesecakes with fresh fruit topping (fresh raspberries or blueberries).

Now, about the tea, what would you serve with dirt pie? My younger daughter requested Paris tea from Harney & Sons. I’ve read that a good quality Formosa Oolong tea pairs well with chocolate. I usually have a robust black tea with milk after most meals and don’t worry about pairing it with dessert (which is not a frequent indulgence for me lately).

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

It’s been a while since I posted for Teacup Tuesday. I haven’t had any new teacups to show you and have had lots of family things taking up my time. I’ve also been frustrated by all the problems with Blogger and haven’t been able to leave comments on a lot of your blogs.

These little teacups were a recent yard sale find.

The pastel flowers are pretty, although I’m not sure what they are.

These were made in Japan and probably quite inexpensive. They certainly were for me – .25 cents apiece.

This little cup was perfect for some David's “Forever Nuts” tea and a mini cheesecake to enjoy with it. The plate is Wedgwood Queen’s Ware in the “Edme” pattern.

The placemat was another yard sale find from a few years ago. The only words written in English on the package are Gen Collection.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

I’ve been trying really hard lately to cut down on the amount of sugar I consume. This has affected my diet quite a bit, including my tea drinking. I was drinking a lot of black tea with milk, until I realized that just 1 cup of my organic 1% milk contains 12 grams of sugar.

Now I’m drinking more green and oolong tea. Today I picked up a box of Stash Coconut Mango Wuyi Oolong.

According to Stash the best oolong tea in the world grows in the mists and fertile ground of the Wuyi Mountains of China’s Fujian Province.

I found this tea to be very smooth and refreshing, with plenty of coconut flavor and just a hint of mango. It has a pleasant slightly sweet taste and contains orange peel, and pineapple flavor, in addition to the oolong tea, coconut and mango.

I’ve always purchased my Stash tea at the grocery store, so it is boxed teabags. The company has lots of variety in loose tea on their website. I’d love to hear any thoughts on Stash loose tea.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Isn’t it fascinating that tea has such a rich history and that there has been so much written on the subject. It seems that there is something new to pique my interest almost every day. Lately I’ve been learning about the Dutch East India Company cargo ship the Geldermalsen, which was lost at sea in January 1752.

Sadly, this important archaeological find was destroyed in the haste to remove the precious cargo.

The most important cargo on board was, of course, tea. The chests of tea(close to 700,000 pounds) were packed several meters high. The cargo also included gold ingots and 203 chests of porcelain like the plate shown above.

Can you imagine 63,623 tea cups, 578 teapots, 548 milk jugs, 171 dinner services, and much more of this gorgeous blue and white porcelain?

Christies Auction House advertised their Amsterdam sale of “Nanking Cargo” (book) porcelain and in May 1986 they sold almost 160,000 pieces at a record price of 20 million dollars. One antique dealer purchased a dinner service for $261,475.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

While flipping through some magazine clippings, I came across this recipe for Chocolate Earl Grey Pound Cake. I can’t remember what magazine it was in, but I’m sure it’s been in my file for quite some time.

Doesn’t this look yummy? Perfect for Sunday afternoon tea.

I’ve made a similar recipe that used strong black coffee, but I liked the idea of Earl Grey tea as part of the liquid. Since my stoneware bundt pan was stored away somewhere in the basement, I used a regular tube pan instead. Not as pretty but okay for a family cake.

The recipe called for a 300 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I took it out of the oven 20 minutes before the recommended time. It probably would have been done in 45 minutes. Maybe I need to check my oven for temperature setting accuracy. Either that or use my stoneware for baking.

The cake was quite good but didn’t have a noticeable Earl Grey flavor. The recipe did include an Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Sauce that would probably have added more tea flavor.

The boys will make short work of the cake, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you’d like this cake recipe please let me know.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

It’s always nice to have some new tea on hand and I was delighted to receive these samples from Davids Tea.

The Coco Chai Rooibos, Forever Nuts and Read My Lips are company top sellers, or la crème de la crème as stated on the box.

Although I’m more of a classic black tea drinker, the ingredients in each of these blends makes them hard to resist. The fragrance of each blend is wonderful – yummy nuts, chocolate and spices.

I’ll start with the Coco Chai Rooibos. I’ve always enjoyed Indian Spiced tea and this includes ginger and cardamom - a couple of favorite spices.

This is a delicious blend, very mellow with none of the flavors overpowering the others. I wondered about the red peppercorns, but they weren’t too noticeable, or spicy hot, like some chai. The coconut flavor was just right.

The Forever Nuts does have a lovely nutty smell and is a beautiful color in the cup. The apple flavor really comes through in this blend. I found that it needed a little longer steep than the Coco Chai.

Read My Lips looks pretty with its red peppercorns and red lips on the dark background. The chocolate mint aroma reminds me of a peppermint pattie candy. It tastes as good as it smells, with the mint flavor in the starring role and a hint of sweetness.

Next time I’m in Toronto, I’ll be sure to visit their tea shop on Queen Street (their first store). It was not there in 1995 when I moved from Toronto to Georgia.

This company has a permanent collection of over 100 teas. They include Three Wishes, Himalayan Traveler’s Tea, Matcha Matsu, Long Life Oolong, Organic Pu’erh Ginger and Roasted Mate.

David Segal’s dream is to bring the tea revolution to people across the country. If the other blends are as delicious as the three I’ve tasted, I’m sure his dream will succeed.